That Which Does Not Kill Us
by Zendou
Summary: It's my usual... E/J, but not like you think... SLASH!
1. Unexpected

Eric settled down onto the couch and rifled through the morning paper. He neatly stacked the remainder of the paper at his side. Jack stumbled into the living room. He fell back into the sofa opposite of Eric and looked at him.

"Mornin' Jack, I saved you your section of the paper."

Jack chuckled, "My section? You mean the _entire_ paper minus the comics?" Eric nodded excitedly and grinned at Jack for a few more moments before returning to where he left off. Jack smirked and pulled the paper towards him and pulled out the front page. Other than the occasional snicker from Eric, both of them read quietly. Eric finished his 'section' and folded it, setting it neatly on the stack that Jack had yet to read.

"So, you hungry for breakfast?" Eric asked as he headed into the kitchen.

"Hmmm?... uh, sure," Jack mumbled from behind the paper. Eric whipped up a couple of bowls of cereal and returned to his spot on the couch, handing Jack his bowl. He put down the paper and took the bowl from him, pausing for a moment to watch Eric eat. Eric flipped on the television and dove into the cereal. He stopped when he realized that Jack was staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Something on your mind?" Eric turned the television off and looked back at Jack.

"Nah, man. Thanks for breakfast."

Eric smiled and turned the television back on again, "Sure, buddy."

******

"Angela, what would you say if I asked you and Shawn to go out with me and Eric tonight?" Rachel held her breath in anticipation of the answer.

"Sure. Do you guys wanna go see a movie or something?"

"Yeah, anything, but I need you to call Eric and invite him to go with us..."

Angela pinched the receiver between her head and shoulder as she folded laundry, "You mean, he didn't ask you out yet?"

Rachel sighed, "No, and that's why I need you to do it for me. Then I don't seem so..."

"Forward?" Angela interjected.

"Right. I know Eric likes me and I really like him too, but Jack and I broke up almost three weeks ago and I think there's some kind of best friend rule that keeps him from asking me out."

"Yeah, I think you're right. Lemme see what I can do. I'll probably just make Shawn do it." They laughed for a moment and talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

******

Jack walked into the apartment, drenched in sweat. He pulled his shirt off as he headed into the bedroom. Eric had just hung up the phone a few seconds after Jack had come in.

"Who was that?" Jack asked while grabbing a clean shirt, fresh pair of boxers and a towel.

Eric watched Jack uncomfortably, "Your brother... uhhh how was your jog?"

"Invigorating... What did Shawn want?" Jack dropped his shorts and kicked them into a pile along with his damp shirt. He walked around in his boxer-briefs, getting ready to jump into the shower.

"Just to see what I was doing tonight... so how far did you jog?"

Jack stopped at the bathroom doorway and slowly turned around, "Eric, that's the worst attempt to change the subject that I've ever seen. What did he say?"

"You aren't gonna like this, Jack."

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened... he just wanted me to go out with him and Angela tonight to see a movie..." Eric dropped his eyes to the floor. Jack took a step closer to him.

"And...?"

Eric looked back up at Jack, "And... Rachel."

"Figures." Jack turned around and shut the bathroom door behind him. Eric could hear the sound of rushing water from the bathroom. He waited until he heard the shower curtain open, then close before opening the bathroom door.

"Jack, if you don't want me to go..."

Jack poked his head out from behind the shower curtain, his hair was full of suds, "Do you want to go out with her?"

"Of course I do, I like Rachel a lot. She's my friend..."

"And my ex-girlfriend..." Jack added from behind the shower curtain.

Eric looked down at the hand towel next to the sink and began to fidget with it, "I know... but if it bothers you, I won't go."

Jack peeked out from behind the shower curtain again, this time his face and neck were covered in soap, "Really?" Eric nodded unenthusiastically. Jack closed the shower curtain and rinsed his face and neck.

"You can go if you give me head first." Eric looked up in shock and disgust.

"No way, man! You're sick!"

Jack laughed and peered from behind the shower curtain for a third time, "A handjob then. I think she's worth a handjob at least, don't you?"

"You're messed up, brutha." Eric turned to leave.

"Alright, I'm just kidding. I don't care if you go out with her."

Eric stopped and looked at Jack.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Jack closed the shower curtain again. Eric shut the bathroom door behind him and skipped into the living room to phone Rachel.

******

Eric pulled up to the apartment and turned off the ignition. He looked over at Rachel and smiled. She grinned back and sat there, staring into his deep brown eyes.

"So you wanna come up and hang out for awhile?"

Rachel's grin faded quickly, "And have Jack see us together? He'd kill you... he'd kill us both."

Eric laughed, "He's not even home, he's covering for someone at work, he won't be home til later... c'mon, he wouldn't mind anyway..." Eric grinned and leaned over to kiss her. Rachel leaned over and kissed him back, thinking how wonderful the last two weeks had been with him.

"Yeah, I'll come up for a little bit, but you have to promise to behave yourself..." she scolded jokingly.

Eric feigned surprise, "Who ME??? I'm a perfect gentleman!"

"Yeah, right," Rachel laughed.

They both got out of the car and headed up to the apartment. Once inside, Eric helped Rachel with her coat.

"Wanna see my new bedspread my mom bought me? They're DUCKIES!" Eric yelled excitedly. Rachel laughed and followed him to the bedroom.

Eric stood at the foot of his bed proudly pointing out the little yellow ducks that covered his bed.

"I've never seen anyone get that excited over a bird before in my life, Eric." Rachel smirked.

Eric started tickling her, "Maybe I'll cover YOU in duckies, how about that!"

Rachel screamed and dove for Jack's bed to try and get away from him. She landed square on the mattress, though the mattress caught her momentum and slid onto the floor.

"Wow! That's a slippery bed!" Rachel chuckled as she stood up. She looked over at Eric and saw him staring at the box spring of Jack's bed.

"What is it?"

Rachel walked to the other side of the bed where Eric was pulling out a small stack of pornographic magazines.

"Rach, these can't be Jack's..." Eric sifted through the stack, one by one, tossing them onto the floor. Rachel grabbed one of them and opened it. As she flipped through the pages, she blushed.

"I don't suppose he's reading the articles, ya think?" Rachel and Eric both looked at each other in amazement.

"No, actually I don't. But it explains a lot. Rach, did he talk to you about any of this, does this make any sense to you?"

Rachel looked back at the magazine, "Not at all... has he been gay this whole time I wonder? Hmmm... not baaad..." Eric snatched the magazine from Rachel's hands and gathered the rest of them up. He hastily shoved them back into the box spring, replaced the mattress and remade the bed. On the other side of the bed there were small papers scattered on the floor. While he collected them into a pile, he found a plastic bag full of, what Eric thought to be, pencil shavings.

"Did you find something else?"

Eric casually stuffed the bag into his pocket, "Nothing... just some trash." He picked up the papers and stuffed them into Jack's nightstand drawer.

Perplexed, Rachel sat down on Eric's bed,"I don't know what to say, I had no idea..."

Eric walked over to Rachel and put his arm around her. "I don't know what to think either, but I know he and I are gonna have a very long talk when he gets home tonight."

Rachel nodded and led Eric to the front door. Eric helped her put her coat on and walked her outside.

When Eric got back, Jack still wasn't home. He watched TV for a bit, until he was too tired to stay up any longer. He got into bed and lay there thinking of what he'd say to Jack when he saw him. He fell asleep, and didn't wake until the next morning. Jack was sleeping peacefully in his bed, so Eric quietly rose and sat on the living room couch, thinking.

Waiting.


	2. Unpredictable

******

Jack woke to the sound of the phone ringing. He heard Eric answer it. He walked into the living room and caught Eric whispering into the phone.

"No, he's not up yet... he came home late, I didn't get to talk to him... I will..."

Eric was startled when he heard Jack's voice behind him, "Who is that?" Eric turned around abruptly.

"He's up now... I'll call you later." He hung up the phone and stood, facing a bewildered Jack.

"What's going on? Why are you whispering?" Jack walked over to the couch and sat down. Eric took a step back and sat on the armrest of the opposite end. He just sat there, staring at Jack.

"Eric. What's the deal, man?" Jack's tone was agitated.

"You have some things you wanna tell me about?" Eric folded his arms and looked at Jack intently. He returned Eric's gaze, baffled and frustrated. Eric produced a plastic bag, the same one from the night before and threw into Jack's lap. "What's that?"

Jack froze. He stared at the bag, "Why were you going through my things? Where'd you get that?"

"The more pressing question, Jack, is where did _you_ get that?" Eric remained stoic, he remained closed off.

Jack sat there for a minute and thought. "This isn't all you found, is it. Why don't you pat me down when I come in the door too." He looked back at Eric, who was shaking his head slowly.

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you," Eric scoffed.

Jack stood up and looked Eric in the eye, "What if I would, you gotta problem with that?" He took a step forward, causing Eric to take a step back.

"Uhh, Jack... it's not what you think... we found it by accident." Eric backed up another step after Jack advanced again.

"We?" Jack stepped forward again, this time Eric had his back against the door.

Eric's voice reflected his discomfort and nervousness, "Rach and I were... playing around... and she tried to get away from me and jumped on your bed... we found all that stuff by accident, I..."

"That doesn't sound like a very good excuse to me. Haven't you ever heard of privacy? Don't you have respect for other people's property?" Jack was nearly nose to nose with Eric at this point. Jack could easily see the fear in Eric's eyes, and it excited him. "I think you owe me an apology."

"I'm... I'm sorry, Jack," Eric stammered.

"I can't hear you."

"I said I'm sorry!" Eric finally sidestepped Jack and walked to the kitchen table. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He had never seen Jack act so unconscionably.

Suddenly, Jack was behind him, "How are we going to fix this mess now, Eric?" He spun around to face Jack. Jack's piercing eyes tore a hole through Eric's body. He felt so vulnerable. Jack had never treated him like this. Panic began to fill his gut as he stared back, against those angry eyes.

"I... I don't know... what do you want from me?"

"We'll talk about it tonight, sound good? In the meantime, how about staying out of my stuff and minding your own business, hmm?" Eric nodded. He felt somehow violated, which was ironic considering the circumstances. Jack turned and walked back into the bedroom. Eric grabbed his keys and locked the apartment door behind him.

******

"... so you didn't say anything else to him?"

"What else could I say? He turned it around on me and acted like we had been snooping around through his stuff!" Eric laid back on Rachel's bed.

"Then you need to figure out what you want to say to him tonight" Rachel prodded.

Eric turned over onto his side, "I know what I'm gonna say. I'm gonna tell him that I can't live with someone that does or sells drugs. Look, I can take care of this by myself."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I'm not trying to do it for you, I just want to make sure that you'll be alright when you confront him again..."

"I'll be fine! Just drop it, Rach!" Eric barked. Rachel stood up and stormed into the bathroom, locking the door. Eric sat up and sighed. He stared at the locked door.

"Rach, I'm gonna go run some errands, I'll come back later and we can go see a movie or go eat somewhere or both, 'kay?" He heard her snap an acknowledgement, which satisfied him enough to leave.

******

Eric marched up the front steps of the building, determined to take charge of the situation this time. He unlocked the door and walked into the apartment.

"Jack? You home?" Eric took his coat off and tossed it onto the coat hanger in the corner. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and set it along with his keys on top of the TV. "Jack!?"

Jack stood in the doorway of the bedroom watching Eric. He puffed on a lit joint and blew the smoke out into the room.

"Jack, we need to talk. Now." Eric was nervous inside, but managed to maintain his composure on the outside. He walked to the bedroom door and stood in front of Jack. He ushered Eric in, narrowing his eyes at him.

Eric brushed passed him, "And could you put that out, please?" He walked over to sit on his bed, but before he reached it, he felt a hard shove that catapulted him onto his bed. As Eric tried to stand, he felt Jack grab a fistful of the back of his shirt and pull him up to a standing position. Jack grabbed his shoulders and spun him around. He backhanded Eric across the face, which knocked him backward onto the bed once again. Eric was still shocked and unconsciously touched the spot where Jack struck him. Jack jumped on the bed and straddled Eric, grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the bed. He drew in another lung-full of smoke and blew it into Eric's face. A muffled cough escaped Eric's lips.

"Shut up, you little prick! Don't tell me what to do in _my apartment. I let you live here and charge you two thirds of what anyone else would pay in rent, you ungrateful little swine." Jack growled. Eric lay there, paralyzed. "There's gonna be rules in this house, Eric, and you are gonna keep it to yourself and you're gonna do exactly as I say."_


End file.
